In March 2018 I spent four weeks at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan as part of the jointly organised Imperial – Tokyo Tech Global Fellows Programme 2018: Innovation to Eradicate Poverty. The first week of the programme focused on the development of transferrable skills such as team-building and communication, learning about how our skills and knowledge can be applied to poverty eradication, and ultimately developing and presenting research project proposals to try and tackle different elements of poverty reduction. We also experienced different aspects of Japanese culture such as Kuruma Ningyo puppetry which was fascinating! Throughout the week I made many new friends, both from Imperial and Tokyo Tech, and it was great to get to know people from different countries and cultures.

After the workshop, I undertook a three week research placement at Tokyo Tech. It was fantastic to learn about my host group’s research into protein crystal engineering and to begin to develop a collaboration between the group and the Membrane Biophysics platform here at Imperial Chemistry. It was also interesting to see how research groups are organised and function outside the U.K. Whilst carrying out the research placement, I had the opportunity to enjoy living in Tokyo. This was made even more enjoyable by frequently meeting up with other Imperial students undertaking research projects as well as Tokyo Tech students we had met in the first week; it definitely wasn’t a lonely stay!

 I had a fantastic experience on the Global Fellows Programme. It was beneficial in the development of many key skills, as well as helping me expand my academic and professional networks. But the most valuable thing I believe I gained from the experience was meeting so many amazing people and getting the opportunity to live (for a short time) abroad. I feel more confident in pursuing an international career, and feel better equipped to live outside the U.K. and Europe. I cannot recommend the programme enough.

"It was fantastic to learn about my host group’s research into protein crystal engineering and to begin to develop a collaboration between the group and the Membrane Biophysics platform here at Imperial Chemistry. "